Ugh ... seriously, is there any chore less fun than polishing silver? Please excuse me while I complain about my First World problems but--seriously, you guys--I just hate it.

I inherited these candlesticks from my grandmother who had inherited it from her grandmother. These very candlesticks have actually been on display in the Smithsonian after my grandmother loaned them to an archivist for a display on traditional American silverware and plateware. It's all rather nifty, but polishing these things is a serious pain in the butt. About 15 minutes of hard scrubbing with silver polish to get them to shine like starlight.

It doesn't sound like much: 15 minutes once every three months. However, I'm due to inherit about 60-plus pieces in the future. This will be hours of work for silver that rarely gets used and paying a few thousand dollars once every 20 years to have them replated after the silver begins to ware and decay.

Still, there's something to be said for shining, sparkling, nearly radiant silver that confettis the light across the room and reflects the smiles of those gathered at the table. There's a sophistication in cream and sugar served from sterling cups and your favorite smoky gravy trickling from a radiant boat. Quality servingware is a treasure to have and something to pass on down to your own kids.

But are prime serving pieces worth the effort--be they silver, china, or otherwise? Sure, they embody family history, culture, and perhaps even a touch of class; but are they worth the effort and cost to maintain?

Do you have any fancy family pieces that you love and loathe? Are they worth the effort?

Apparently we're supposed to go straight to Christmas even before we've finished washing all the turkey plates, but I'm still digesting thoughts from the holiday barely past.

One is that the best guests bring Tupperware. I hoard takeout and delivery and kittybag containers all year to send home leftovers, but one friend announced she had come prepared. Everyone should do it, given that I read today how way too much of the biggest dinner of the year just winds up in the trash.

Second is a trick I learned from the friend who stepped up to the stove as I was about to abandon the pan drippings that refused to bind with slurry in the roaster on the stovetop. She said she'd worked in a five-star restaurant and seen the chefs use a slice of bread to soak up grease. I only had five-grain, but it did indeed get us closer to gravy.

And third is that global warming is now undeniable. We spent some time talking about how Thanksgiving used to be a snow day, how the Macy's parade route was always lined with shivering gawkers. Yesterday was close to balmy. But the truest sign is that most friends brought red wine and then wanted to drink white. Turkey swings either way, but the white stuff is definitely better suited to warmer weather. Sayonara, zinfandel.

Now that Thanksgiving's over, I can (safely) talk about Christmas-related items, like Advent calendars. Here are five have their own charm and appeal, and are worth seeking out.

1. Dark Horse Chocolates from Dean & Deluca, $34
Fans of Currier & Ives will appreciate the horse-drawn sleigh
winding its way through the snowy village. The oval-shaped, goil-foiled chocolates follow an equestrian theme (Tallyho [solid milk chocolate], Dressage Classic [almond butter crunch]) and were deemed to be a good size by some, although anyone looking for visual variety will be disappointed. Fans were especially wowed by the "dark horse"--a chocolate-mint combination.Perfect for: The Nostalgia Buff

2. Vosges Haut-Chocolat Advent Calendar, $135By the time this post goes up, Vosges will be out of stock of this luxe calendar. Unfortunately, there won't be any more produced but there is a silver lining to this news: Two new items that were part of the calendar are also offered individually. Check out the Gnome Lollipops (Peppermint, Sugar & Spice, Deep Milk) and Petit Chocolats. With the latter, taste buds danced in delight especially for the Smoke & Stout Caramel: "The bitter center was so luxurious. Creamy, smooth, and noncloying. A wallop of intense flavor. I want to eat one every night with a glass of Cabernet."Perfect for: The Hedonist

3. Prestat Advent Calendar, $49The Three Kings shimmer on the front of this British import, and in my opinion, it looked the nicest of the boxes. This collection is all about flavored truffles, and it plays upon the magi's exoticness with flavors like Orange and Frankincense, Coconut Oasis, and Sicilian Key Lime. Unlike all the other calendars which wrapped their chocolates, Prestat's were not so if grubby hands are a concern, might want to keep this to yourself.Perfect for: The Truffle-Lover

4. Valrhona's Advent Calendar, $30This bright, red calendar features small Valrhona chocolate squares. Known for their single origin chocolates, the snack-size pieces are perfect for anyone who knows bigger isn't always better. The "days" were consistently a challenge to pry open, but for Valrhona fans, the reward was well worth the effort.Perfect for: The Dark Chocolate Fiend

5. Lindt Advent Calendar, $35
This bright and festive box portrays the busy North Pole, and the Lindt's milky chocolates are all on display here. Each day opens up to a differently shaped and flavored treat. Here, variety is key. Note: It's already sold out online but check with select retail Lindt shops which may still have them in stock! So hurry!Perfect for: Kids and Kids-at-Heart

T-minus five minutes to store opening: Review elaborate deployment patterns with family members so that everyone knows which way to scatter once inside the doors. Swig additional bourbon-laced coffee, execute additional wild gleeful cackling.

Personally, I could eat Thanksgiving leftovers for a week with no problem. Between sandwiches and curries, I'm all set. And I usually use the turkey bones to make stock for a hearty pumpkin soup.

Other people tire of the bird more quickly, though. Some relatives will gobble down turkey sandwiches tomorrow and want to move on to other gastronomic pastures.

Whichever camp you fall into, we have ideas for you, from soups, pot pies, and casseroles to tasty turkey recipes with an international twist (Turkey Jook, anyone?). We have tips for storing and reheating, too.

Regardless of the variations, there are always several dishes I have to make in memory of my late grandmother: rolls from scratch, green-bean casserole, and pies made with homemade crust. (That's a photo of a Johnston family holiday spread circa 1965.)

Among my sister, mom, and me, we always seem to misplace the roll recipe. I asked Grandma J once to write it down, but she never did. Her rolls had good days and bad, leading us to suspect she was winging it most of the time. This year, rather than start the roll-recipe phone chain, I tried this Parker House Roll recipe and formed them into clovers.

The green-bean casserole is a childhood flavor memory I can't quit and pies are a point of family pride. Making these dishes keep grandma front of mind, and I can't help but think a part of her is there in the kitchen with me cooking.

What family-favorite holiday dishes will never leave your Thanksgiving menu?

I've never carved a turkey, happily leaving the knife to braver souls. There's something intimidating about a turkey. This year, however, I've all the know-how I need to tackle the bird, thanks to Epicurious' turkey-carving technique video.

The calm, experienced carver in the short video makes it look easy -- a far cry from watching Grampa with his shirt sleeves rolled up attacking the turkey, brow furrowed and face red in concentration.

Whether you need a refresher on turkey carving or are a novice like me, take a couple of minutes to learn from a pro. Even Grampa could learn a thing or two.

Turkey might be the most iconic Thanksgiving dish, but for many of us, the annual holiday feast just wouldn't be complete without gravy. And it's a multi-tasker too: Great gravy can fix dried out turkey, jazz up bland stuffing--it can even mask gummy mashed potatoes. But what if your gravy is no good? What if it's thin or greasy or, even worse, lumpy? It happens. But not this year.

For advice on avoiding common gravy blunders, as well as tips on how to fix them, we turned to cookbook author and cooking teacher James Peterson. In our complete gravy primer, Peterson starts by explaining that "gravy is nothing more than the natural drippings, or juices, from a roast, which get thickened, usually with flour." Sounds simple, right? To make things even simpler, Peterson offers a step-by-step guide to homemade gravy, starting with how to get the most flavorful juices from whatever you're roasting, whether it's the Thanksgiving turkey, a leg of lamb, or a pile of vegetables. Peterson then explains the various ways to thicken those juices, and also how to solve pesky problems like gravy that's too thick or too thin.

Thanksgiving is the holiday that most tests the invisible bonds that keep families together. All the resentments and annoying quirks come bubbling up like the prepackaged powder in cheap, overcooked gravy, and the next thing you know, drumsticks and carving knives are flying everywhere.

Your uncle who was an acolyte of Ron Paul until he became a last-minute convert to the Church of Romney? You can be sure he'll be mentioning his Facebook petition to secede from the "Obamanation."

Your holier-than-thou daughter who spent four years of your hard-earned money earning a degree in theater -- theater! -- only to end up selling clothes made of hemp in Oakland, Calif.? You can bet she'll be as smarmy as possible rubbing in the victory of "the 47 percent" -- while reacting with a high-pitched whine when you suggest she take a bus from the airport instead of making her mother pick her up in the Lexus.

So if you want to survive the next 18 hours or so, avoid talk of the election, religion, would-be secessionists, the fiscal cliff, Obamacare, the pizza magnates who want to lay off employees or raise prices, how you don't approve of that girlfriend, the time Dad "lost" your dog, that money your brother owes you, etc., etc.

When the topic veers to something dangerous, just change the subject like this -- it'll be easy. You'll see the reminders right in front of you!

1. "Oh yeah, election sure was ... but hey! Did you know that in Turkey, the word for turkey implies it's from India?" It's true! And in Portugal, they call it the peru. Weird, right? One theory posits that we call the bird "turkey" in English because it got confused with the Guinea fowl, which was the first bird nicknamed "turkey" because it was introduced to the English by Turks.

2. "Uncle Bob's divorce ... yeah ... you know what that reminds me of? Cranberries. Did you know we don't actually eat the majority of our cranberries on Thanksgiving?" Americans eat about one-fifth of their cranberries on Turkey Day -- the rest go down the gullet throughout the rest of the year, mostly as juice. (We each about two pounds annually.) You can easily segue into a safe, extended discussion on the merits of fresh cranberry sauce versus the canned stuff.

3. "Whew! Maybe that Obama sure did get off this election .... You know who else got off lucky? That presidential turkey. But did you know that that tradition was started by the first President Bush?" Yep, it's a new White House tradition, started only in 1989. Legends that Abe Lincoln pardoned the first White House turkey are probably apocryphal.

4. "Yep, the economy sure is a mash ... mashed potatoes! We might not be eating them today if not for an eccentric French scientist in the 18th century!" Potatoes were looked at with considerable suspicion (even outlawed in France) when health pioneer Antoine-Augustin Parmentier held a contest to come up with recipes for the tubers, and even staged stunts to allow peasants to steal what he implied were extremely valuable crops.

5. The Big Gun: If it's still not working and everyone's at each other's throats, pull out the laptop and play this ...